Written by

Alan Bjerga
Bloomberg News

Americans may want to freeze the leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner, as retail food prices are expected to rise next year, sparked by the the country's worst drought in more than half a century.

The dry conditions sent corn futures to a record and wheat prices to the highest in four years. They had less of an effect on food costs than expected earlier this year because slowing economies and oil demand have offset price pressures, economists say. Thanksgiving dinner will cost only 0.6 percent more than in 2011, the American Farm Bureau Federation said, with a 3.1 percent jump in turkey prices ...